1 Thaler 'Katechismustaler' - Ernest The Catechism

Duke Ernest I of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg — known to contemporaries as "Ernst der Fromme," the Pious — was among the most earnest Lutheran reformers among the German princes of the seventeenth century. He mandated catechism instruction throughout his duchy and issued this thaler specifically to reinforce that program, distributing examples as prizes to children who demonstrated mastery of Lutheran doctrine. The coin was a pedagogical tool before it was a currency.

The four-year emission window reflects sustained production across multiple dies, and Steguweit's corpus documents at least several distinct die combinations within the type.